Two-car accident sends two to YVMC

A two-vehicle accident Friday on U.S. Highway 40 west of Hayden sent the cars into a ditch and two Craig residents to the hospital, the Colorado State Patrol reported.

The driver and passenger of a Subaru were taken by ambulance to Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs before Colorado State Patrol arrived on the scene, said Sgt. Gary Meirose, the officer at the scene. Both were residents of Craig.

A 37-year-old Craig resident driving a pickup was uninjured in the crash, Meirose said.

In the midst of Friday's snowstorm, a Subaru traveling east on U.S. 40 struck the westbound pickup, which was traveling behind a snowplow. Meirose said the driver of the Subaru may have been spooked by the snowplow and lost control of the vehicle as a result, but he stressed that the cause of the accident was under investigation.

It is not clear what role the weather played in the accident. Snow was falling, and U.S. 40 was snowy and icy when the accident occurred.

Meirose said the Subaru veered into the westbound lane at mile marker 102.5, just west of Hayden, hitting the pickup and sending both cars off the road. The accident was reported by a passing motorist, State Patrol reported.

As of Friday afternoon, the Subaru driver had been treated and released, while the passenger remained at the hospital, Meirose said.

Meirose said both of the people in the Subaru are Craig residents; however, he could not release their names or ages. According to federal privacy laws, Yampa Valley Medical Center cannot release information on unnamed patients.

Meirose said a full report would be available after he speaks with the driver and passenger taken to the hospital -- likely Monday. No citations have been issued.